Final EPOS Study Results Published in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica Show Anti-epilepsy Treatment Zebinix® (Eslicarbazepine Acetate) Administered as Only Add-on to a Current Monotherapy Leads to High Retention and Seizure Freedom Rates and is Well-tolerate - Seite 2

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions, affecting approximately 6 million people in Europe.^[6] Despite many anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) available, the successful treatment of partial onset seizures remains a significant challenge in some patients. Currently, between 20-40% of patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy will become refractory to treatment.^[7]

"People with epilepsy can face a struggle to control their seizures and maintain a good quality of life. We are extremely pleased that once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate has performed well in a real life clinical setting, is effective, well tolerated and helps patients to manage their seizures. Eisai is committed to provide effective treatments to patients, as underscored by our human health care mission," comments Neil West, Vice President, Global Neurology Business Unit, Eisai EMEA.

The continued development of eslicarbazepine acetate underscores Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, the company's commitment to innovative solutions in disease prevention, cure and care for the health and wellbeing of people worldwide.

Eslicarbazepine acetate is already available in Albania*, Austria, Czech Republic, Cyprus*, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (co-promotion with BIAL, the developer of eslicarbazepine acetate), Greece, Iceland, Italy, Malta*, Norway, Portugal*, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, Spain (co-promotion with BIAL), UK (co-promotion with BIAL) and the U.S and Canada**.

*Exclusively by BIAL

**Eslicarbazepine acetate is sold in the U.S. and Canada under the trade name APTIOM^[®]

Notes to Editors   

About Zebinix^® (eslicarbazepine acetate)

Eslicarbazepine acetate is indicated as adjunctive therapy in adults with partial onset seizures, with or without secondary generalisation.^[6]The clinical trial programme is also underway for eslicarbazepine acetate as a paediatric and monotherapy treatment.

Eslicarbazepine acetate is a voltage-gated sodium channel blocker.^[8] It selectively targets the slow inactivated state of the sodium ion channel^[9],[10] (which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy),^[11] preventing its return to the active state, and thereby reduces repetitive neuronal firing.^[9] Further, eslicarbazepine acetate does not inhibit potassium efflux,^[12] which may reduce the potential for repetitive neuronal firings.^[9] The efficacy of eslicarbazepine acetate was demonstrated in an initial proof-of-concept phase II study^[14] and three subsequent phase III randomised, placebo controlled studies in 1049 patients with refractory partial onset seizures.^[13],[2]